Energy guiding chains having a steel strip cover are marketed, for example, by the company TSUBAKI KABELSCHLEPP GmbH, D-57482 Wenden-Gerlingen. The steel strip is respectively guided between two side walls of the chain links and is held on the chain links by inwardly projecting retaining lugs of the side walls.
Energy guiding chains serve for the guidance of flexible supply lines, such as, for example, electric cables and pneumatic or hydraulic lines of a moving machine component. The energy guiding chains can be received or laid down at least partially in a guide trough which is recessed into the floor or into a foundation beneath the moving machine component (a so-called underfloor trough).
Energy guiding chains that are installed completely underfloor and are protected or encapsulated by a cover are known. Only the media feed is run to the moving machine component through a floor opening. The open aperture to the energy guiding chain lying beneath the cover is relatively small and can be closed, for example, by brushes. However, for an underfloor-fitted energy guiding chain of this kind, a deep and voluminous foundation is required. In energy guiding chains that are installed in a totally or partially recessed arrangement underfloor or in the floor, there is the danger of dirt collecting in the guide trough, which leads to malfunctions and damage. In use with laser processing machines, there is the danger of laser radiation escaping through the gap between the energy guiding chain and the guide trough thereof into a region that is to be secured if the guide trough is not closed over its full width by a cover at the transition to the region to be secured.